The Back to Life Issue

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Hello friends! Welcome to Notes from the Road, where we crack the code on your 50s and beyond. In this issue:

• Getting back to life this fall.

• Simplifying your digital life.

• Newsletter spotlight: Wisdom Compounder.

• Our new eBikes (and a handy buying guide).

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Missed an issue? Read them all here.

For me, Labor Day marks the end of summer and the beginning of normal life for the year. I grew up around a lot of teachers, so my internal clock revolves around the rhythm of the school year.

The seasons fell into place nicely when we had a kid at home. With an empty nest it’s not as clear cut. The familiar rituals are gone: school supplies, back-to-school clothes, a fall calendar marked with soccer games. Now, I’ve latched onto other signs of summer’s end: the last trip to the beach, the last family visit, the last good tomatoes.

I now look at this time of year like New Year’s Day, only better. It’s a great time for a fresh start. The weather is still beautiful but cooler. The days are still long. There’s still great fresh food at the farmer’s market. A summer of playing outside leaves me feeling lighter and more energetic. It’s a perfect time for turning over a new leaf, for being intentional about your time and energy, for trying new things.

So I look at it not as back to school season, but back to life season.

In that spirit, I’ve devoted this newsletter to the ways in which you can make a fresh start this September. Hope you find it useful in clearing away the old and taking in the new.

Wishing you a wonderful start to the fall season!

Bite-Sized Book Review

He also says that many hacks for freeing ourselves from the digital yoke aren’t very effective. The digital detox and the digital sabbath are short-term fixes that don’t address the deeper problem: “distracting tools and compulsive habits that may have accumulated haphazardly over time.” He proposes replacing them with “a much more intentional set of behaviors, optimized, in proper minimalist fashion, to support your values instead of subverting them.”

The solution? A thirty-day declutter process during which you take a break from the optional technologies in your life, and then gradually re-introduce some bit-by-bit. (No, you don’t have to do this with work-related tech). He does this with a cohort of hundreds of people, and it’s life-changing. Who wouldn’t want to experience more meaningful time in this life?

In the meantime, while you’re waiting out your thirty days, he suggests a host of practices to adopt, including spending time alone and spending time in nature. There’s plenty more to try. It’s a good roadmap for adopting a new, more intentional way of engaging with the digital world. I hope to try it out this autumn and will share my experience when I do.

(Hat tip to David, a reader and friend, for suggesting this book 😘).

Newsletter Spotlight

Each week, I get a few requests to recommend other newsletters. Because I don’t want to suggest something you wouldn’t like, I spend time reviewing the past issues of these newsletters and also subscribe myself.

Not many newsletters pass this review. Some don’t have a proven record yet. Some are obvious marketing vehicles. And some are just…weird.

But Wisdom Compounder passes with flying colors. Every issue is a thoughtful take on investing and the markets. It’s part finance, part philosophy, and every part entertaining. I look forward to reading it when it arrives and I think you will too. Subscribe (or have a look) below.

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